Macbeth Essay - ‘Macbeth Tyrant or Tragic Hero?
Macbeth Essay - 'Macbeth Tyrant or Tragic Hero?' Discuss The character of Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. There are many factors which contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth of which three will be discussed. The three points which contribute greatly to Macbeth's degeneration are the prophecy which was told to him by the witches, how Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment, and finally Macbeth's long time ambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's growing character degenerates from a noble man to violent individual. The prophecies which were told by the witches were one of the factors which contributed to the degeneration of his character. If it had not been for the witches telling him that he was to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self. As a result of the prophecies, this aroused Macbeth's curiosity of how he could be King of Scotland. As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches prophecies. Shakespeare uses the witches as a remedy for Macbeth's curiosity which corrupts his character. The influence of Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth also contributed to his degeneration of character. Lady Macbeth's character in the beginning reveals that she is a lovable person. When Lady Macbeth was ready to kill King Duncan herself, it showed
Explain how Shakespeare Uses Gender Roles in Macbeth
Explain how Shakespeare Uses Gender Roles in Macbeth Although at the time of Shakespeare, women were thought of as lesser beings, he still manages to portray them as strong, and influential people in his play Macbeth. The orthodox view of females when Shakespeare wrote the play is that they were homemakers, looked after their children, they were quiet, weak and unintelligent, and the only reason they existed is to have male children. Males however were the warriors and the money earners. They were expected to, in Malcolm's words "settle things like men", which meant to duel against there enemies. The men were always expected to be the dominant partner in a relationship. Shakespeare manages to defy conventions with some of his characters in this play. Lady Macbeth is a very strange character, and often changes from masculine to feminine whenever it suits her. An example of this is Lady Macbeths attempts to lose her womanliness once and for all when she calls on the spirits to "unsex" her in Act 1 scene 5. She does this because she sees being a woman as a category that defines and limits human beings as such. She tells the spirits to "Make thick my blood, stop up the access and passage to remorse". She wants all of her femininity to be taken away. She wants to feel no pity flowing through her veins, and she wants to feel no compassion, so that nothing will stop her carrying
How does William Shakespeare build up tension during Macbeth in Act two, Scene one and two?
MACBETH How does William Shakespeare build up tension during Macbeth in Act two, Scene one and two? In Macbeth, "A play for a king", William Shakespeare builds up tension by playing on the superstitions of the audience, the setting for the murder, what the characters say to one and other and how they speak to one and other. All of these coupled together with the exaggerated noises of stage, heighten the tension in the first two scenes of act two. Shakespeare starts building up tension right from the start of the Act by making a scene in which there is no moon in the night sky. We know this because Fleance says there is no moon in the night sky and to a "James" audience this will mean that something bad will happen, and this is one example of Shakespeare playing on the audiences superstitions. He also builds up tension right from the start of act two scene one by writing that Banquo gives his sword, his only piece of protection to his son Fleance. We know this because Banquo says "Hold takes my sword" and this will give the audience an indication that Banquo fears for his son's life. This would tell the audience that something bad will happen because why would Banquo be worried more about his son than what he normally is. Shakespeare also builds up tension by being ironic in his play writing. In these scenes he is ironic when he tells the audience that King Duncan gives
Compare Act 2 Scene 2 (the murder of King Duncan) with Act 5 Scene 1 (the sleepwalking scene), paying particular attention to the way in which the character of Lady Macbeth is dramatically presented.
Compare Act 2 Scene 2 (the murder of King Duncan) with Act 5 Scene 1 (the sleepwalking scene), paying particular attention to the way in which the character of Lady Macbeth is dramatically presented. Act 2 Scene 2 primarily concerns itself with Macbeth's killing of King Duncan, and with Lady Macbeth framing King Duncan's guards to make it look as though it was they who committed the heinous crime of killing the ruler of the country. Comparisons with this scene can be made with Act 5 Scene 1, in which Lady Macbeth is seen to be sleepwalking, and in doing so giving away secrets about the murders of King Duncan and of the Macduff family. In both scenes, Lady Macbeth displays varying mental sates, which are demonstrated through her actions in the scenes. In the beginning of Act 2 Scene 2, Lady Macbeth is alone on stage. Whilst talking in a soliloquy, she reveals to the audience that she had deliberately made the king's guards drunk, 'That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold:' Lady Macbeth clearly is not as ruthless and cold as she appears to be on the outside, as she needs to intoxicate herself before building up enough courage to go through with their plan. Lady Macbeth also shows signs of cowardice, when she gets Macbeth to kill King Duncan, using the excuse that King Duncan looks like her father. This shows that Lady Macbeth is vulnerable, as is shown later
Macbeth - Discuss the dramatic significance of Act 2 Scene 2
Macbeth Discuss the dramatic significance of Act 2 Scene 2 Macbeth was set in 11th century Scotland, which was a very violant place. Scotland was very unstable, families were always fighting to control land and people were always invading from other countries. Macbeth was born in 1005 and married the granddaughter of the king. King Duncan was ineffective and was killed at 38 years old, possibly by Macbeth. Macbeth was elected king in 1040 and ruled for 17 years. He was a good king who brought stability to Scotland. He was killed on the 15th of August 1057. When the play was created England was fasinated by witches and witchcraft. Even the king james I was intreguied by it. So Shakespeare creates the story with witches in it, when there probably wasn't any witches involved at all. In Act 1 Scene 2 Banquo receives an offer of a bribe from Macbeth to say nothing about the witches. Banquo refuses because of his loyalty to king Duncan, this hints at a future problem for Macbeth. Macbeth then has a vision of the dagger he might be going to kill the king with. It is leading him to Duncan's bedchamber. He talks to it but realise it is a halucination when he tries to touch it but can't. Dramatic tension is created for the audience, will Macbeth kill the king or will he stay loyal to Duncan? In Act 2 Scene 2, Macbeth returns to the stage after killing the king in his sleep.
"Nothing is but what is not" A discussion of how the play ends leaving the reader with uncertainty on final judgementsof the character of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are made
"Nothing is but what is not" A discussion of how the play ends leaving the reader with uncertainty on final judgements of the character of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are made "Fair is foul and foul is fair" is established at the opening of the play, by both the witches and Macbeth himself, as the audience is asked to question and reconsider its responses to the characters and action of the play. So by the end of the play, with the main characters dead on stage leaving us wondering 'was he only the 'dead butcher' and she, 'his fiend-like queen'?' There is evidence to suggest that Macbeth would have fit the description of being a "butcher," after all, he had taken the lives of many people, some of them were even close associates of Macbeth. He assassinated Duncan, the king, in order to gain the throne. He also murdered Banquo, who was his best friend, and slaughtered the Macduff household. However, Macbeth only resolved himself into a far more stereotypical villain when he felt that he had gone to far, as he says, "I am in blood stepped in so far." His ambition of staying king from this point begins to spur him toward further horrifying deeds, and he starts to disregard and even challenge fate and fortune. Each successive murder reduces his human characteristics still further, until he appears to be the more dominant partner in the marriage. Nevertheless, the
By the end of Act II what impression have you formed about Macbeth?
By the End of Act II What Impression have you Formed about Macbeth? At the start of Act II Macbeth is seen as a Tragic Hero who must have some potential nobility, some good qualities that make what is happening to him terrible. He is shown to the audience as a human being with human weaknesses. The one who, as Lady Macbeth describes as in Act I, Scene v, "is too full of the milk of human kindness.' We see him as a victim of his ambition, of moral weaknesses, or even of a combination of circumstances that cause him to fall. Macbeth is a well respected man, brave on the battle field, 'brave Macbeth' and loyal to his king and country, 'valiant cousin! Loyal brother.' He is praised highly by the messenger and also by Duncan himself. The only thing that seems to let Macbeth down is his tendency to temptation. He is interested in the witches predictions as demonstrated by Banquo's observation, 'he is transfixed' but his interests and temptation does not make us feel any anger or annoyance towards Macbeth, for to be tempted is not a crime, it is how he acts on the temptation that asserts our views on his character. At the beginning of Act II we see a torn Macbeth. He is constantly struggling with his conscience and the contemplation of Duncan dominates his every thought. a whole soliloquy is dedicated to Macbeth's conscience; 'Is this a dagger which I see before me....?'
"Lady Macbeth is the real driving force behind the murder of Duncan."
"Lady Macbeth is the real driving force behind the murder of Duncan." William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth for James ?. James ? was king of Scotland and became king of England after Queen Elizabeth I's death. James I actively supported theatre and gave lots of money to support it. He believed very strongly in witchcraft and the supernatural. A curse was put on him, which strengthened his belief, and kept witches being executed. James I never died from the curse but it kept his belief in their power very strong. In act 1 scene 3 it starts by Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the health. It starts by Macbeth being told by the witches that he would be thane of Glamis and thane of Cawdor. Macbeth acts excited, is very curious, and wants to believe the prophecy. Macbeth also seems disbelieving, not because he does not believe their power, but because he can't imagine being Cowdor or King. Macbeth takes the prophecy very seriously and gets lost in his thoughts. He tries to puzzle out how the prophecy may be true but nothing suggests that he was thinking of murdering King Duncan at this stage. But like anyone he is thinking how it could be possible to become King. As for Banquo he is apprehensive and thinks the witches were a hallucination. Banquo is less curious and seems a lot more innocent.
Examine the presentation of the witches in Macbeth.
Examine the presentation of the witches in Macbeth Macbeth is one of the better-known plays written by Shakespeare, where the audience are drawn to sympathise with a cold-blooded murderer. Convinced by his wife and the witches' prophecies, that he shall become King, Macbeth's fatal ambition results in his downfall. Macbeth was written during a period where many women were tried for witchcraft, and they were subsequently executed. As well as this, women were persecuted and misogyny was an accepted issue of every day life. Many Elizabethans believed, that witches controlled almost every aspect of their existence, they were able to predict the future and change the weather Shakespeare took this as his back ground and displays them in Macbeth, making the play very much a product of the time, however, the play still enjoys the same reactions today because of Shakespeare's use of imagery and themes of which blood and guilt appear frequently. This allows the modern day audience to find relevance with it, despite the play's age. Earlier audiences would describe Macbeth and his Lady as seized by demonic possession. Amen/ stuck in my throat. (Act 2 scene 2) Macbeth's inability to pray shows that he has been ensnared by evil. Come, you spirits (Act 1 scene 5) Here lady Macbeth's inviting of evil spirits to possess her would also be seen to be abnormal, even in today's
Macbeth. Act V. Sc. 5 The theme of this passage is Macbeth's realization that his disruption of the natural order will soon right itself and that the witches' prophecies are coming true, just not in a way Macbeth had originally believed.
Sam Greenblatt "If thou speak'st false, Upon the next tree shall thou hang alive, Till famine cling thee. If thy speech be sooth, I care not if thou dost for me as much. I pull in resolution, and begin To doubt the equivocation of the fiend That lies like truth. 'Fear not, till Birnam Wood Do come to Dunsinane,' and now a wood Comes toward Dunsinane. Arm, arm, and out! If this which he avouches does appear, There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. I 'gin to be aweary of the sun, And wish th' estate o' th' world were now undone. Ring the alarum bell! Blow wind, come wrack, At least we'll die with harness on our back." - Macbeth. Act V. Sc. 5 The theme of this passage is Macbeth's realization that his disruption of the natural order will soon right itself and that the witches' prophecies are coming true, just not in a way Macbeth had originally believed. Natural order is a theme that runs throughout the play, both in a physical sense, as well as figuratively. The theme of "physical" nature is represented by planting, growth, and trees. In Act 1, Scene 4, Duncan says to Macbeth, "I have begun to plant thee, and will labour To make thee full of growing". Another example comes from Act 1, Scene 3, when Banquo says to Macbeth, "If you can look into the seeds of time, And say which grain will grow and which will not...". Trees represent another form of nature
